The goal of the program is to provide outstanding training to post-doctoral fellows in cellular and molecular neurobiology in an environment where basic science and clinical medicine are intertwined, and both disciplines are appreciated as important components of the research endeavor. A critical feature of the training program is that it is based within the Division of Neuroscience located in the Enders Pediatric Research Building of Children's Hospital. As part of Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, the Division of Neuroscience provides a unique and high-quality training environment that fosters interactions between outstanding basic scientists and superb clinicians. The research of the faculty and fellows that participate in the training program ranges from basic research in neurobiology (in the areas of genetics, molecular biology, electrophysiology, biochemistry and cell biology) to research that is aimed towards defining the molecular basis of diseases of the nervous system including epilepsy, cancer, Down's syndrome, spinal cord injury, mental retardation, sudden infant death syndrome, neurodegenerative diseases, and muscular dystrophies. The effectiveness of the training program is assured by the inclusion of 25 outstanding faculties who are well trained in research and/or medicine and have had extensive training experience. The success of the training program over the last 5 years is evident from the high level of academic success of the previous trainees. Many of the previous trainees are now outstanding academic neurologists and/or creative basic neuroscientists holding faculty positions at some of the best institutions in the United States. During the next five years the training program will continue to draw upon the extensive neuroscience research environment at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital. Four post-doctoral trainees with Ph.D. and/or M.D. degrees will participate in the program. At all levels trainees with outstanding potential will be appointed. The trainees in this program will come from diverse backgrounds in research and medicine, thereby facilitating the integration of basic science with efforts to uncover the molecular basis of neurological disease. The trainees will include physicians who have recently completed their training in neurology as well as post-doctoral fellows who have recently received the Ph.D. degree in an area of basic research. Overall, the strength of the training program derives from its faculty, trainees, and the rich research environment at Children's Hospital.